Just Joined! Smoke Problem with RAV 4

[Emmliz]

Hi Everyone,

I was very happy to find this site. I am a great Toyota lover - most dependable cars on the road in my opinion. I have owned a 1998 RAV 4 for many years - it has never let me down, and I am very reluctant to think that one day soon it will need to be replaced. It has 105,000 miles on it.

Anyway, I recently had its inspection done and asked the mechanics to look at the problem with thick whitish smoke coming out of the exhaust. It only started recently. It is especially bad when starting the engine on a cold morning. It seems to fill the entire street...and the smell fills the car. The smoke stays thick for quite some time, although at the end of journey, it has sometimes disappeared. Despite the smoke, the car passed its emissions test, and the mechanics told me it's because the rings on the engine are old and worn. However, they didn't say anything about getting it fixed. They told me they had put an additive in which should help, but it hasn't made any difference. Is this something which is 'fixable,' or does this signify the end of the line for my car.

Thanks to anyone who can offer advice,
Liz

[toyomoho]

The mechanic should be able to do either a compression or cylinder leak down test to determine if the rings are leaking too much. Did they do this?

White smoke at cold start up could be worn valve stem seals or guides. When the engine sits overnight oil seeps between the seals and guide into the cylinder. The smoke can be very pronounced at engine start up but usually dissipates after a few minutes.

When the car was emission tested what was the HC reading? Excessive oil burning can show up as high HC readings.

If the rings are bad this requires an engine overhaul, a very expensive job. The engine needs to be removed (lot so labor) and engine overhauled. If this is the problem might look for a good used engine.

If the issue is the guides or seals this requires removing the engines head but not the engine from the car. The seals and guides are replaces and typically a valve regrind job is also done. The type of repair is much less expensive but still not cheap.